Many authors think that getting their book edited means getting a copy edit. And if they've even heard of a line edit, they often think that there's no difference between line editing and copy editing. WRONG There is a difference between line editing and copy editing. Many authors think that a copy edit is all their book needs. WRONG. Both kinds of editing are important if you want your book to compete with genuinely professional authors. And you need a developmental edit as well. Developmental editing Before the copy and line editing can begin, you'll need to have your book looked at for conceptual and structural issues. This is called the developmental edit, and it can be done in a manuscript appraisal. This will tell the author what they need to do to solve structural issues like plot, pacing, world building, characterisation, dialogue and so on. It's the big-picture editing. Quality beta readers can give you this level of feedback, but they need to be … [Read more...]
A 2020 Short Story: the Year that Changed Me
In my last post, I shared a video suggesting that you write a 2020 short story. But if you liked the idea, you may have got stuck at the question of how to best approach the task. I decided to give it a try myself, and I began by focusing on what had the most impact for me. I've published that part of it below - it happens to be the beginning of my full 2020 short story. I found that writing the story of my experience of 2020 gave me a greater perspective and some psychological distance from things I'd found upsetting. So even if you don't want to share your story with anyone, you might like to write it, just for yourself. You could try just writing one scene, the moment you found most powerful, or the thing you remember most about the year. Enjoy ... Fire Fire. To the north. To the south. And to the west. Heat. Inescapable. Searing winds. Shatter my peace of mind. So hot it’s hard to breathe. Hard to move. Fireworks? New Year celebrations? None of that. Just a creeping … [Read more...]
2020: Congratulations, Thank You, and Writing Inspiration.
My last post for this year is a vlog (posted below) in which I thank my clients for their support, congratulate us all on getting through the year, acknowledge the difficulties we faced, and offer some writing inspiration. On top of that, I hope you all have a lovely holiday season and enjoy your smaller-than-usual gatherings. Especially at Christmas, it's good to celebrate our good fortune rather than dwelling on our loses - and less people are a lot easier than managing large gatherings. That said, if you have lost a loved one, you will miss them terribly at this time. Don't be afraid of tears; they wash away our pain. I hope you can acknowledge the absence of your loved one, celebrate their life and send them love wherever they are. The photo represents the sun rising on the new year. May 2021 be a better year for all of us, and may we learn to love the earth. As David Attenborough said, "If we take care of nature, it will take care of us." With all my … [Read more...]
5 Poor Writing Practices that Make me Stop Reading
Books that display poor writing practices make me stop reading. In this article, I look at five poor writing practices to avoid. I read a lot. I always have, but in the past my reading was limited by the cost of books. The arrival of ereaders on the publishing scene made books cheaper –especially indie books – which allowed me to indulge my passion for reading. But I read so much that I was still spending a lot each month, and so I joined Kindle Unlimited (KU) where I pay a monthly fee and can read as many books as I want without extra charge – as long as they’re in KU. This has allowed me to try all manner of books because if I don’t like them or they don’t hold me, I simply return them and find another. Cheaper but less trustworthy When I paid $25 for paperbacks, I took a long time to choose one I thought I’d like, and I always finished them. Publication by a mainstream publishing house - as they all were back then - meant that the books were at least readable even if we … [Read more...]
How Much Description is Too Much in a Novel or Memoir?
In terms of personal preference, for both authors and readers, there is a fair bit of leeway in the answer to the question of how much description is too much in a novel or memoir. However, in terms of craftsmanship the answer to this question is clear. What’s not so clear is how you, as an author, determine whether or not your work meets the criteria for the right amount of description. Image by Pexels from Pixabay Too little Whether you’re writing a novel or a memoir, some description of scenes and people is required to set the scene. Without some indication of how people and their environment look, the reader has nothing with which to stimulate their imagination, and reading is essentially an imaginative endeavour. We want a book to carry us off into other people’s stories and into the cities, towns, countries, times and even planets, universes and realms in which the story takes place. Description provides a rich texture that stimulates the readers’ imaginations, helping … [Read more...]
The Wisdom of Giving Up
What do you do when feedback on your creative work indicates that you haven’t managed what you were trying to achieve and a total re-think is required, a rethink that will require new enthusiasm and an incredible amount of work? I give up. 'Ahh!' you might exclaim, horrified by the thought. 'Doesn't that mean you've failed?' No. Giving up isn't failing; it's part of the creative process. Giving up isn't the same as failing Even if you discard a project completely and never return to it, you will have learned from your writing and struggling with it, and the best ideas from that story will emerge in a new story, a better story. Perhaps you did fail to bring a book to publication, but that doesn't make you a failure; it makes you a writer, and a sensible one. Some stories are really not worth the work to fix them up because they'll never be that great a book, and if you can admit that, then you're freeing yourself up to write something else, something that could be a … [Read more...]
How do You Know if Your Story is Worth Investing in?
An editing quote can sometimes be a shock, but a high editing cost just means that there's a lot of work that needs to be done on your book. The cost of the edit might make you wince, but what's the cost of not doing it? Is that story you've slaved over worth taking the next step? It's a question I've asked myself with every one of my books, and three times, I decided the story wasn't worth continuing with. Those unedited and unpublished books still remain in the archive folder on my computer, there to languish forever. Sometimes you just have to walk away. Other times, you need to take the plunge and put your money into your dream to make it a reality. And a full edit will not just make it a real book, it will make it a REALly good book! So how do you decide which category your book falls into? The one you should walk away from or the one you should invest in? That's what I look at in this video. https://youtu.be/gHAy1veZUI8 … [Read more...]
Good Writing: Why the Word ‘Immediately’ Doesn’t Make Your Writing More Immediate.
Misunderstandings about what makes good writing abound. What you were taught at school may not be the best practice at all. Image by StockSnap from Pixabay Said usage is not a sin In primary school, my teachers asked us to avoid using the word said, as if that would make our writing better. It doesn’t. Fancy dialogue tags (words other than said, replied and perhaps the occasional exclaimed to indicate who is speaking) are obvious—they jump out at the reader—and so interrupt the reading experience and remind readers they’re reading. But we want our readers so totally immersed in our story that they forget they are reading. We want them to feel as if they are in the action, right there with the characters, and fancy dialogue tags do the opposite of that. Said is so ordinary that we skim over it. And this is only one of the misunderstandings I see often in beginner writers. There are far more skilful and interesting ways to avoid countless ‘saids’ than replacing them with … [Read more...]
5 Tips for Marketing Your Book on a Budget
Today I have a guest post from Desiree Villena If there’s one thing most writers have in common, it’s this: we’re all working on a budget these days. Sure, there’s a lucky few among us whose books take off without much effort, or who have deep enough pockets to invest in heavy advertising and surveying. But that’s just not an option for most of us. Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do to boost your book without breaking the bank — that is, if you’re willing to be a little creative with your marketing and put in the work. Image by StockSnap from Pixabay 1) Organize a newsletter swap Let’s start with something pretty simple — reaching out to your friends. As an author, it’s important to form relationships with people in your corner of the book community, and a big part of that will be authors who write in the same genre as you. Far from being competition, these people can often become your most steadfast allies. Now, no one wants to have false friends, … [Read more...]
When reality looks like fiction: Covid-19 and apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction
With the world in the grip of Covid-19, life is looking like something out of a novel from the apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction genres. This is not particularly surprising considering that reality informs fiction and fiction reflects reality. The first time I felt I were living in an apocalyptic fiction novel was when out of control bushfires threatened my property in January of this year, but the threat receded and left me and my property unharmed. And even during the event, the world and the rest of Australia continued as normal, so – even though it felt like it to those who lived through it – the fires weren’t truly an apocalyptic event. The Australian fires were catastrophic, but they were restricted to one area of the world, whereas a truly apocalyptic event effects the whole world or large portions of it. Image by GravityGeorge from Pixabay The word apocalypse, according to the Oxford Dictionary refers to ‘the complete final destruction of the world, … [Read more...]
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